Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At Elia Group, all employees are treated equally, regardless of their sex, gender identity, country of origin, age, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, ability, social background or other related factors. We see it as our role to create a diverse and inclusive organisation and society. We carry out our work for the benefit of society. We therefore want to ensure that our staff and organisation reflect the many and diverse communities and customers that we serve.

What do diversity, equity & inclusion mean at Elia Group?

Catherine Vandenborre, CEO ad interim Elia Group

"Diversity, equality and inclusion are key fundamentals of our company culture. We need a diverse pool of talents and need to bring in diverse perspectives, a variety of backgrounds and new ideas when realising our strategy and making the energy transition happen. Moreover, we create together an inclusive and warm working environment where every voice is heard."

For Elia Group, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mean giving equal opportunities to all of our staff and creating an inclusive and supportive work environment for everyone. This will ensure that we attract and retain talented people and unlock their full potential. We are therefore committed to identifying and eliminating all forms of discrimination and bias, whether conscious or unconscious, and ensuring that our workplaces make every member of staff feel welcome.

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We value diversity and we are conscious of the fact that the energy sector has historically been led by male technical expertise. With the challenges brought about by the energy transition and our transformation into a digital organisation, we need to widen both the pool of candidates we attract and the experience of the staff we hire, whilst also broadening the crucial roles women play in the energy sector.

Our actions are centred around 3 focal points:

Our actions

Some of our DEI actions are outlined below. We will keep building on these as we move towards becoming an even more inclusive Group, constantly adapting our approach and planning out new steps to take.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Charter

At the end of 2020, Elia Group signed a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Charter. This DEI Charter outlines the management team’s commitment to further embed diversity, equity and inclusion across our organisation.

“Regardless of sex, gender identity, country of origin, age, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, ability or social background, and only based on performance, leadership, behavior, skills & competencies, everyone is supported to succeed and can contribute to the sustainable success of Elia Group”

Creating awareness about diversity, equity & inclusion

Since each member of staff at Elia Group should contribute to building an inclusive work environment, we have launched a we have launched a DEI awareness campaign.

Some campaign actions target the entire Group, like the organisation of an inspirational session celebrating International Women’s day or an annual Elia Group Diversity Day, whilst other actions are tailored to specific departments or teams. In the latter case, we are planning interactive sessions on the importance and benefits of diversity and inclusion, as well as the blind spots we can still work on.

Elia Group diversity, equity & inclusion ambassador network

Julia Weiland, Asset & European Regulation Team Lead at 50Hertz, and DEI ambassador

“Diversity means to be invited to a party, which is fair - but to be asked for a dance is a lot better.”

To ensure that all staff across the whole of Elia Group are committed to diversity and inclusion, we established a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Ambassador Network. This network connects dedicated employees from across the organisation who act as champions of diversity, equity and inclusion and help to embed new initiatives into their teams. The network is voluntary and open to all Elia Group employees.

The numbers

We are currently establishing a diversity & inclusion data dashboard to better track our performance and the outcomes of our actions. This dashboard will also be available for team leaders to easily assess how diverse their teams are. Figures collected in 2020 show the following:

19.6% of Elia’s overall workforce is female . As of 31 December 2020, 18.32% of positions at the two most senior management levels were occupied by women. Moreover, 22.8% of positions at the third most senior management level were occupied by women, whilst 17.4% and 37.5% of positions on the supervisory board and the executive board (respectively) were occupied by women.

The average age of employees at Elia is 42.4 years; this has remained stable when compared with previous years.

In 2020, the percentage of female hires increased by 8% compared with 2019, whilst the percentage of 50+ hires rose by 11%.